Pimms O'Clock!

I absolutely love this campaign. I'm an adchick by profession, and this one just looks so smart to me.

If you were to look at the Pimms brand a certain way, I'm sure it would appear at first to have a problem. Pimms itself may be seen as old, stuffy, the afternoon drink of little old ladies on the lawn. And their agency, Mother, could have reacted to this by going the "let's rebrand!" route, like Southern Comfort, who opted to get down with the kids by re-christening themselves 'SoCo' and stuffed their ads with swirly clubby imagery and the sounds of young voices casually ordering SoCo cocktails. None of which changes the fact that it's a shit drink favored by bikers and leathery barflies in t-shirts adorned with puff-painted wolves or unicorns .

Mother, on the other hand, got both hands on what Pimms reminds us of - posh, clueless Britishness - and rather than attempting to disown it, embodied it in a figure of fun. Tweed and a T-shirt. Awesome. (If you know any British cavalry officers, you've got the idea.) The situations are absurd, the optimism of Harry boundless, and the drink - at the end of the day - delicious.

A Google search for "Pimms O'Clock" reveals lots of user-generated content, which demonstrates the accessibility and liking of the concept. Harry even shows up on a few MySpace pages as profile photos. So I'm clearly not the only one that likes it.

The "tent" ad is my current favorite, but this one is just as cute. Now I'm going to bugger off to the market and grab some fruit and lemonade, as it's 2:35 on a Friday afternoon and it's clearly - you get the idea.

Tally-Ho!

Old Los Angeles

When I think about my city, gleaming rose-gold under an endless blue sky, it makes my heart hurt.

I've left, which I don't regret because I live with my soulmate in another beautiful country. But when I think of Los Angeles, the city of my youth, I think of its graceful Art Deco curves and its warm Latin aura (rather than the homelessness, the traffic, the things that can drive you to despair). I think of long afternoons, the light spangling on the ragged palms that ripple in the crosswinds. And I I feel the invisible threads that run from my fingers to the California earth tugging and aching just a bit.

PerfectPoachedEgg.com

How awesome is this site? It's a beautifully designed step-by-step instruction site on how to make the perfect poached egg, including external factors such as making toast or coffee. And a gallery as well. Inspired.

http://www.perfectpoachedegg.com/

Afro Puffs

I'm not black. But if I was a black woman, I'd like to think I'd wear my crowning glory naturally. I'm talking the biggest Afro you've ever seen...and for those roller-skating jam days, Afro puffs. Coolest casual style ever. Flat out. Look at how proud and happy this girl looks.

This is Not My Beautiful Wife

Talking Heads' seminal song. Still so cool.

Once in a Lifetime

This is my existential boogie. I listen to it when I'm at particularly puzzling points in my life. You know, those "How did I get here?" moments. But it's all good, and it's all meant to be. Maybe. I hope. And I challenge you not to do the arm-chopping thingie.

Ickle Elephants

All together now...awwwwwwwwwwww.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/picture_gallery/picture_gallery/0,,70141-1250424-1,00.html

Elephants rock. And on a day when I'm feeling horrible, nothing makes me happier than new baby elephants learning to be big elephants. Do you think they make little cartoon toy-trumpet sounds with their trunks?

Having Good Dreams, and Remembering Them

I love it when you manage to sleep in on a weekend, and the early morning hours are spent in a long, meandering, symbolically adorned, fun dream. And it's even better when you remember enough of that dream to tell your partner about it.

It's true that not all partners want to hear about dreams. Admittedly, some can be quite tedious. And we all know what the "generic" dreams are: drowning, standing in the middle of a public place naked, being late for something, etc. But these are custom dreams, in a way; they're built to the specs of your own little universe, and they're genuinely fun. If your partner is like my husband, he'll find some of the details amusing as well. Or at least he'll pretend to. He was a pretty good sport this morning.

"Rip Her to Shreds"

This is my first shot at listing the things I love. There's no rhyme or reason to the way they come to me...my internal scanner is usually set to random, and sometimes I'll stumble on some bit of trivia or visual that keenly interests and delights the weird little people in my head. So I want to use this opportunity to compile those bits, so they remind me to be happy.

My first love-thing is the song "Rip Her to Shreds," by Blondie...I love the way she describes this chick, whoever she is:

1. "Check out those shoes"

2. "She looks like she stepped out of the middle of somebody's blues."

2. "Miss Groupie Supreme"

3. "Vera Vogue on parade"

4. "Red eyeshadow, green mascara - she is too much!"

5. "She's got the nerve to tell me that she's not on it, but her expression is too serene"

6. "She looks like she washes with Comet"

I'm sure there were a lot of women like this at New York entertainment parties in the '80s. Nowadays you can buy green mascara at Boots, though.

Bye bye, sugar.